How Most Sports Injuries Affect the Body

How Most Sports Injuries Affect the Body
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Many athletes think their back or knees are the only body parts they have to protect. However, every part of the body is vulnerable to most sports injuries. Sports injuries can affect any part of the body, including the face, back, hands, feet, neck, head, and sex organs.

Head and Neck Injuries

These sports injuries can include a variety of injuries ranging from mild to severe. Head and neck sports injuries include:

  • Concussion: Violent hit or jarring that causes a temporary and quick jolt to the athlete’s brain. If this injury is recurrent or severe, brain damage can occur.
  • Hematoma: This injury involves a pooling of blood or bleeding between the tissue layers inside the brain or between the brain covering’s tissues.
  • Whiplash: This injury affects the neck and occurs when the head experiences an abrupt jerking motion.

These potentially serious injuries can typically be prevented by wearing a helmet. If a fellow athlete experiences a head or neck injury, it is very important to never move them and to get emergency medical assistance.

Contact sports, such as football, hockey, and soccer are commonly associated with this type of sports injury. Diving and gymnastics may also cause it.

Back Injuries

These injuries include fractures, stress fractures, sprains, contusions, and strains. The most common causes include overexerting the back muscles or twisting while lifting or bending. Back injuries are often seen in sports, such as football, weight lifting, dancing, basketball, ice hockey, gymnastics, figure skating, and dancing.

Sex Organ Injuries

Males are most vulnerable to these injuries. They should always wear an athletic protection cup to protect their external sex organs from serious injury. Ovary and uterus injuries rarely occur, but breast injuries are rather common. Women can injure their breasts by getting hit in the chest by a softball or an elbow to the breast in contact sports. Supportive bras, such as sports bras, can help in preventing breast injuries.

Hand and Wrist Injuries

Hand, wrist, and finger injuries can include dislocations, fractures, and sprains. These injuries are often seen in contact sports, such as lacrosse, football, and hockey. A fall that forces the fingers or hand backward, a direct hit, or forceful impact can cause this sports injury.

Foot Injuries

Most sports injuries involving the feet include stress fractures, swollen growth plates, ligament strains, and heel bruises. The feet support every ounce of a person’s weight making them rather susceptible to sports injuries as a result of having to repeatedly absorb a lot of force. Another reason for foot injuries is differences in feet. Such differences can include high arches or flat feet. Neither disqualifies someone from participating in sports, but it does mean they will have to take certain precautions to avoid injuries, such as using special shoe inserts.

Resources

Sports Injury Clinic. (2010). Welcome to the Virtual Sports Injury Clinic. Retrieved on June 30, 2010 from the Sports Injury Clinic: https://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/

Medline Plus. (2010). Sports Injuries. Retrieved on June 30, 2010 from Medline Plus: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/sportsinjuries.html